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Book - f\ ?^

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AN

ORATION,

DELIVERED

AT

p L r M 0 u r H,,.

DECEMBER z%, i8oa. "

AT THE ^

ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION

OF THE

FIRST LANDING OF OUR ANCESTORS,

AT THAT PLACE.

V

BY 3|ol|tt €^!tmcr jaoanTsf.

[Publiflied at the requefl: of the Hon. Joshua Thomas, James Thacher, and William Jackson, Efquires, the Committee of the town of Pty- moutb, by whofe delire it was publiflied]

Ad ilia mihi pro fe quifqiie acriter, intendat animum quae vita, qui mores fuerint ; per quos viros, quibufque artibus, et partum et auctum imperium fit — Hoc illud eft praecipue in cognitione rerum falubre ac frugiferum, omnis tc exempli documenta in illuftri poiita monumento intueri : inde tibi tuaeque reipublicas quod imitere, capias. livy.

BOSTON,

PRINTED BY RUSSELL AND CUTLER,

1802.

ADVERTISEMENT.

THE hiftorical fai5ls, relative to the firft fettlers of the Ply- moiuh Colony, noticed in this Difconrfe, arc colleded from the narratives in Purchas, from Prince's Chronology — fromthe Ap- pendix to the fecond volume of Hutchinfon's Hiflory, and a- bovc all from the fecond volume of Dr. Belknap's American Biography — a work which no American, interefted in the ho- nour of his country, can perufe without keenly feeling, as a na- tional calamity, the ftroke of deatli which arrelled the autlior in the midftofhis labours upon its continuation. I cannot forbear exprefling here the hope, that fome of the living orna- ments of our literature will take up the plan which he had fo fuccefsfully commenced, and make all the diftinguilhtu cha- raders of paft times on this continent, more intimately known to their pofterity, than they havt been hitiierio.

Kyt'ji Uratioii, ^c.

Among the fentiments of moft power- ful operation upon the human heart, and moft

highly honorable to the human character, are thofe of veneration for our forefathers, and of love for our pofterity. They form the connecting links between the felfifh and the focial paffions. By the fundamental principle of chriftianity the happi- nefs of the individual is interwoven by innumera- ble and imperceptible ties with that of his cotcm- poraries : by the power of filial reverence and parental affe^lion, individual exiftence is extended beyond the limits of individual life, and the hap- pinefs of every age is chained in mutual depend- ence upon that of every other. Refpecl for his anceftors excites in the breaft of man, intereft in their hiftory, attachment to their charaders, con- cern for their errors, involuntary pride in their virtues. Love for his pofterity fpurs him to ex- ertion for their fupport, ftimulates him to virtue

for their example, and fills him with the tendered folicitude for their welfare. Man, therefore, was not made for himfelf alone — No ! He was made for his country by the obligations of the focial compafl : he was made for his fpecies, by the chriftian duties of univerfal charity : he was made for all ages paft by the fentiment of reve- rence for his fcnxfathcrs ; and he was made for all future times by the impulfe of affection for his progeny. Under the influence of thefe principles, " Exiflence fees him fpurn her bounded reign." They redeem his nature from the fubjc6lion of time and fpace : he is no longer- a " puny infect fliivcring at a breeze ;" he is the glory of crea- tion — ^Form'd to occupy all time and all extent : bounded during his refidence upon earth, only by the boundaries of the world, and deftined to life and immortality in brighter regions, when the fabric of nature itfelf fliall diflblvc and peiifh.

The voice of hiftory, has not in all its compafs a note, but anfwers in unifon with thefe fenti- ments. Tlie barbarian chieftain who defended Jus country againfl the Roman invafion, driven to the remotcft extremity of Britain, and ftimulat- ing his followers to battle by all that has power of perfuafion upon the human heart, concludes his exhortation by an appeal to thefe irrefiflible feelings* — " Think of your forefathers and of

•Prcindr itiiri in acift)i, ct majora vcflros ct poflcros cogitate.

Ciltjcui in Vlt:i ApricoUc.

your poflerity." i'lie Romans themfclves, at the pinnacle of civilization, were aduatcJ by the fame imprcllions, and celebrated in anniverfary fellivals every great event which had fignalizcd the annals of their forefathers. To multiply inftances, where it wereimpoilible to adduce an exception would be to wafte your time and abufe your patience : but in the facred volume which contains the fub- flance of our firmcft faith and of our moft preci- ous hopes, thefe paflions, not only maintain their higheft eilicacy, but are fanclioned by the expref^- injunctions of the Divine legiflator to his chofen people.

THE revolutions of time furnifli no previous example of a nation, fhooting up to maturity and expanding into greatnefs with the rapidity which has charaderized the growth of the Amer- ican people. In the luxuriance of youth ^nd in the vigor of manhood it is pleafingand inflrucli\ e to look backwards upon the helplefs days of infancy :, but in the continual and effential clianges of a growing fubject, the tranfactions of that early pe- riod would be foon obliterated from the memory, but for fome periodical call of attention to aid the lilent records of the hiftorian. Such celebrations aroufe and gratify tlie kindHcft emotions of the bofom. They are faithful pledges of the refpecl we bear to the memory of our anceftors and of

8

the tendernefs with which we cherifh the rifing generation. They introduce the fages and heroes of ages paft to the notice and emulation of fucceed* ing times : they are at once teftimonials of our gratitude, and fchools of virtue to our children.

THESE fentiments are wife — they are honora- able — they are virtuous — their cultivation is not merely innocent pleafure, it is incumbent duty. Obedient to their dictates, you my fellow-citizens have inftituted and paid frequent obfervance to this annual folemnity. And what event of weight- ier intrinfic importance or of more extenfive con- fequences was ever fele6tcd for this honorary dif- tinftion ?

IN reverting to the period of their origin, other nations have generally been compelled to plunge into the chaos of impenetrable antiquity, or to trace a lawlefs anceftry into the caverns of ravifhers and robbers. It is your peculiar privi- lege to commemorate in this birth-day of your nation, an event afcertained in its minuteil details: an event of which the principal a6lorsare known to you familiarly as if belonging to your own age : an event of a magnitude before whlcli Im- agination flirinks at the imperfection of her pow- ers. It is your further happinefs to behold in thofe eminent characters who were moft confpi-

cuous in accompUlliing the fettlement of your country, men upon whofe virtues you can dwell .with honeft exultation. The founders of your race are not handed down to you, like the father of the Roman people, as the fucklings of a wolf. You are not defcended from anaufcous compound of fanaticifm and fenfuality, whofe only argu- ment was the fword, and whofe only paradifc was a brothel. No Gothic fcourge of God— No Vandal peft of nations— No fabled fugitive from the flames of Troy— No baftard Norman tyrant appears among the lift of worthies who firft land- ed on the rock, which your veneration has pre- ferved as a lafting monument of their atchieve- ment. The great aclors of the day we now folem- nize were illuftrious by their intrepid valor, no lefs than by their chriftian graces ; but the clarion of conqueft has not blazoned forth their names to all the winds of Heaven. Their glory has not been wafted over oceans of blood to the remoteft regions of the earth. They have not erected to themfelves, coloffal ftatues upon pedeftals of hu- man bones, to provoke and infult the tardy hand of heavenly retribution. But theirs was " the better fortitude of patience and heroic martyr- dom." Theirs was the gentle temper of chriftian kindnefs — the rigorous obfervance of reciprocal iuftice — the unconquerable foul of confcious in-

t4>

tcgrity. Worldly Fame has been parfimonious of her favors to the memory of thofe generous champions. Their numbers were fmall — their nations in lifeobfcurc — theobjed of their enter- prize unoftentatious — the theatre of their exploits remote : how could they pofTibly be favorites of worldly Fame ? That common crier, whofe ex- iftence is only known by the alTcmblage of multi- tudes— That pander of wealth and greatnefs fo eager to haunt the palaces of fortune, and fo faf- tidious to the houfelefs dignity of virtue — that paralite of pride, ever fcornful to meeknefs, and ever obfequious to infolent power — that heedlefs trumpeter, whofe ears are deaf to modeft m^rit, and whofe eyes are blind to bloodkfs dillant ex- cellence.

WHEN the perfecu ted companions of i^o^/Vz/c-w, exiles from their native land, anxioufly fued for the privilege of removing a thoufand leagues more diftant to an untried foil, a rigorous climate and a favage wildernefs, for the fake of reconciling their fenfe of religious duty with their afFeclions for their country, few, perhaps none of them formed a conception of what would be within two centuries the refult of their undertaking. When the jealous and niggardly policy of their Britifh fovereign, denied them even that humbleft of requefls, and inftead of liberty would barely con-

1 1

feJit to promife connivance, neither he nor they might be aware that they were laying the foun- dations of a power, and that he was fowing the feeds of a fpirit, which in lefs than two hundred years would Itagger the throne of his defcendants, and ffiake his united kingdoms to the centre. So far is it from the ordinary habits of mankind to calculate the importance of events in their ele- mentary principles, that had the firft colonifts of our country ever intimated as a part of their de- figns, the project of founding a great and mighty nation, the finger of fcorn would have pointed them to the cells of bedlam, as an abode more fuitable for hatching vain empires than the foll- tude of a tranfatlantic defert.

THESE confequences, then fo little forefeen, have unfolded themfelves in all their grandeur, to the eyes of the prefent age. It is a common amufement of fpeculative minds, to contraft the magnitude of the moft important events with the minutenefs of their primeval caufes, and the re- cords of mankind are full of examples for fuch contemplations. It is however a more profitable employment to trace the conftituent principles of future greatnefs in their kernel ; to detect in the acorn at our feet the germ of that majeftic oak, whofe roots fhoot- down to the centre, and whofe branches afpire to the ikies. Let it be then our

12

prefent occupation to enquire and endeavour to afcertain, the caufcs firlc put in operation at the period of our commemoration, and already pro- ' duclive of fuch magnificent effects. — To examine Xvith reiterated care and minute attention, the cha- racters of thofe men who gave the firft impulf to a new leries of events in the hiftory of the world. — To applaud and emulate thofe qualities of their minds which we fhall find deferving ot our admiration. — To recognize with candour thofe features which forbid approbation or even require cenfure, and finally, tolay alike their fraiK ties and their perfections to our own hearts either as warning or as example.

OF the various European fcttlemcnts upon this continent which have finally merged in one independent nation, the firft eftablifliments were made at various times, by feveral nations and un- der the influence of different motives. In many inftances the convictions of religious obligation formed one and a powerful inducement of the adventurers ; but in none, excepting the fettie- ment at Plymouth, did they conftitute the fole and exclufive actuating caufe. Worldly intereft and commercial fpeculation entered largely into the views of other fettlers : but the commands of confciencc were the only ftimulus to the emi- grants from Leyden. Previous to their expedition

I 'I

iiither they had endured a long baniflimcnt from their native country. Under every fpecies of dif- couragement they undertook the voyage — they performed it in fpitc of numerous and almoft in- fuperable obftacles : they arrived upon a wilder- nefs bound with fruft and hoary with fnow, with- out the boundaries of their charter : outcaft* from all human fociety ; and coafted five weeks together in the dead of winter, on this tempeftu- ous fliore, expofcd at once to the fury of the ele- ments, to the arrows of the native favage, and to the impending horrors of famine.

COURAGE and perfeverancc hav^ a magical tal- ifman, before which difficulties difappear and ob- ftacles vanifh into air. Thefe qualities have ever been difplayed in their mightieft perfection as at- tendants in the retinue of ftrong paffions. From the firft difcovery of the weftern hemifphere by Columbus, until the fettlement of Virginia, which immediately preceded that of Plymouth, the va- rious adventurers from the antient world had ex- hibited, upon innumerable occalions, that ardor of entcrprize and that ftubbornnefs of purfuit, which fet all danger at defiance and chain the violence of nature at their feet. But they were all inftigated by perfonal interefts — Avarice and ambition had tuned their fouls to that pitch of exaltation — Self- ifli paffions were the parents of their heroifm. It

was refer vcd fof the firft lettlers of New-England to perform atchievements equally arduous, to trample down obftructions equally formidable to difpel dangers equally terrific under the fmglc infpiration of confcience. To them, even liberty herfelf was but a fubordinate and fecondary con- fideration. They claimed exemption from the mandates of human authority, as militating with their fubjcclion to a fuperior power. Before the voice of Heaven they lilenced even the calls of their country.

VET, while fo deeply imprcfledwith the fcnfe of religious obligation, they felt in all its energy the force of that tender tie which binds the heart of every virtuous man to his native land. It was to renew that connection with their country which had been fevered by their compulfory ex- patriation, that they refolved to face all the ha- zards of a perilous navigation, and all the labors of a toilfome diftant fettlement. Under the mild protection of the Batavian Government, they en- joyed already that freedom of religious worfliip for which they had refigned fo many comforts and enjoyments at home : but their hearts pant- ed for a reftoration to the bofoth of their coun- try. Invited and urged by the open-hearted and truly benevolent people who had given them an afylum from the perl'ecution of their own kin-

dred, to form their fcttlemcnt within the territo- ries then under their jurifdiclion ; the love of their country predominated over every influence fave that of confcience alone, and they preferred the precarious chance of relaxation from the bi- goted rigor of the Englifh Government to the certain liberality and alluring offers of the Hol- landers. Obferve, my countrymen, the generous patriotifm, the cordial union of foul — the con- fcious yet unaffeded vigour which beam in their application to the Britifh Monarch—" They were " well weaned from the delicate milk of their " mother country, and inured to the difficulties " of a flrange land. They were knit together in a " flricT; and flicred bond, to take care of the good of " each other and of the whole. It was not with *' them as with other men, whom fmall things could " difcourao^e or fmall difcontents caufe to wifli " themfelves again at home." Children of thcfe exalted Pilgrims ! Is there one among you, who can hear the fimplc and pathetic energy of thefe expreflions without tendernefs and admiration ? Venerated fhades of our forefathers ! No I ye were indeed not ordinary men ! That country which had ejected you fo cruelly from her bofom, you Itill delighted to contemplate in the character of an aflectionate and beloved mother. The facred bond which knit you together was indifToluble

i6

while you lived — and oh ! may it be to your de- fcendents the example and the pledge of harmony tothelateft period of time ! The difliculties and dangers which fo often had defeated attempts of fimilar eftablifhments were unable to fubdue fouls tempered hke yours. You heard the rigid interdic- tions—you faw the menacing forms of toil and dan- ger,forbidding your accefs to this land of promife : but you heard without difmay — you faw and dif- dained retreat. Firm and undaunted in the confidence of tha^. facred bond — Confcious of the purity, and convinced of the importance of your motives, you put your trufli in the protecting fhicld of Providence, and fmiled defiance at the combining terrors of human maUce and of ele- mental ftrife. Thefe, in the accompliftiment of your undertaking, you were fummoned to en- counter in their moil hideous forms : thefe you met with that fortitude, and combated with that perfeverance which you had promifed in their an- ticipation : thefe you completely vanquifhed in cftablifliing the foundations of New-England, and the day which we now commemorate is the per- petual memorial of your triumph.

IT were an occupation, peculiarly plealing, to cull from our early hiftorians and exhibit before you, every detail of this tranfaclion. To carry you in imagination on board their bark at the firft

'7

moment of her arrival in tlie bay — to accompany Carver, Winjlow, Bradford ind StandiJJ), in all their cxcurfions upon the defolate coafl — to follow them intoevei'y rivulet and creek where they en- deavoured to find a firm footing, and to fix with a paufe of delight and exultation the inllant when the firft ©f thefe heroic adventurers alighted on the fpot where you, their defcendents, now enjoy the glorious and happy reward of their labors. But in this grateful talk, your former orators on this Anniverfary have anticipated all that the mofc ardent induftry could collect, and gratified all that the mofl inquifitive curiofity could dcfire. To you, my friends, every occurrence of that mo- mentous period is already familiar. A tranfient allufion to a few characleriftic incidents which mark the peculiar hiflory of the Plymouth fet- tlers, may properly fupply the place of a narra- tive, which to this auditory muft be fuperfluous.

ONE of thefe remarkable incidents is the exe- cution of that inftrument of Government by Avhich they formed themfelves into a body-politic, the day after their arrival upon the coaft, and previous to their firil landing. This is perhaps the only inftance, in human hiftory, of that pofi- tive, original focial compact, which fpeculative philofophers have imagined as the only legitir-^ute fource of government. Here was a unanimous C

and perfonal afTent by all the individuals of the community, to the airociation by which they be- came a nation. It was the refult of circumftances and difcuflions, which had occurred during their piflage from Europe, and is a full demonftration that the nature of civil government, abftrafted from the political inftitutions of their native coun- try, had been an object of their ferious medita- tion. The fctders of all the former European Co- lonies had contented themfelves with the powers conferred upon them by their refpeclive charters, without looking beyond the feal of the royal parchment for the meafure of their rights, and the rule of their duties. The founders of Plymouth had been impelled by the peculiarities of their fit- uation to examine the fubjecf with deeper and more comprehcnfive refearch. iVfter twelve years of banifliment from the land of their firft allegi- ance, during which they had been under an adopt- ive and tem.porary fubjeclion to another fovereign, they muft naturally have been led to reflect upon the relative rights and duties of allegiance and fubjeclion. They had refided in a city, the feat of an univerfity, where the polemical and political controverfies of the time were purfued with un- common fervour. In this period they had wit- nefled the deadly flruggle between the two par- ties, into which the people of the United Pro- vince, after their feparation from the crown of

19

Spain, had divided thcmfelves. The contcli: em- braced within its compals not only tlicological doctrines, but poHtical principles, and Maurice and Biirncvelt were the temporal leaders of the flimc ri- val factions, of which Epiftopiiis and Polyandcr^ were the eccleiiaftical champions. That the inveftiga- tion of the fundamental principles of governrnent was deeply implicated in 4hefe diflbnfions is evi- dent from the immortaiTtvork of Grottus, upon the rights of w^ar and peace, which undoubtedly originated from them. Grotius himfelf had been a moft diftinguiflied actor and fuflferer in thofe important fcenes of intern'al convulfion, and his work was (irft publifhed* very fliortly after the departure of our forefathers from Ley den. It is well known, that in the courfe of the conteft, Mr. Robin/on more than once appeared, with cre- dit to himfelf as a public difputant againft Epifco- plus ; and from the manner in which the fact is related by Governor Bradford, it is apparent that the whole Englifli church- at Ley den took a zeal- ous intereft in the religious part of the contro- verfy. As ftrangers in the land it is prefumable that they wifely and honorably avoided entang- ling themfelves in the political contentions invol- ved with it. Yet the theoretic principles, as they were drawn into difcuflion, could not fail to ar- reft their attention, and muft have allilled tliern

* la 1625.

20

to form accurate ideas concerning the origin and extent of authority among men, independent of pofitivc inftitutions. The importance of thefe circumftances will not l^ duly weighed without taking into confideration the ftate of opinions then prevalent in England. The general princi- ples of government were there little underflood and lefs examined. The whole fubftance of hu- man authority was centered in the fimple doft- rine of royal prerogative, the origin of which was always traced in theory to divine inftitution. Twenty years later the fubje6l was more induf- trioufly fifted, and for half a century became one of the principle topics of controverfy between the ableft and moft enlitrhtened men in the nation The inftrument of voluntary aflbciation executed on board the Mayfloivcr, teftifies that the parties to it had anticipated the improvement of their nation.

ANOTHER incident from which we may derive occafion for important refledions, was the attempt of thefe original fettlers to eftablifh among thcin that community of goods and of labor which fan- ciful politicians, from the days of Plato to thofe of Rotifeau^ have recommended as the fundamental law of a perfect republic. This theory refults, it muft be acknowledged, from principles of rcafon- ing moft flattering to the human charafl^cr. If

CI

induftry, frugality and difinterefled integrity, were .ilike the virtues of all, there would appa- rent-y be more of the focial fpirit, in making all property a common ftock, and giving to each in- dividual a proportional title to the wealth of the whole. Such is the bafis upon which Plato for- bids in his republic the divifion of property. Such is the fyftem upon which Roupau pronounces the firft man who enclofed a field with a fence and faid this is mine, a traitor to the human fpecies. A wifer and more ufeful philofophy however directs us to confider man, according to the nature in which he was formed ; fubjecb to infirmities, which no wifdom can remedy ;; to weakneffes which no inftitution can ftrengthen ; to vices which no legiflation can corred. Hence it be- comes obvious, that feparate property is the nat- ural and indifputable right of feparate exertion — that community of goods without community of toil is oppreflive and unjuft ; that it counteracls the laws of nature, which prefcribe, that he only who fows the feed fhall reap the harveft : that it difcourages all energy by deftroying its re- wards ; and makes the moft virtuous and active members of fociety, the Haves and drudges of the worft. Such was the iffue of this experiment among our forefathers, and the fame event de- monftrated the error of the fvftem in the elder

22

fettlement of Virginia. Let us cherifli that Ipirit of harmony, which prompted our, forefathers to make the attempt, under circumftanccs more fa- vorable to its fuccefs than perhaps ever occurred upon earth. Let us no lefs admire the candor with which they rcUnfiuifhed it, upon difcoverjng its irremediable inefilcacy. To found principles of government upon too advantageous an eftimate of the human character, is an error of inexperi- ence, the fourcc of which is fo amiable, that it is impoflible to cenfurc it with feverity. We have feen the fame miftake, committed in our own age, and upon a larger theatre. Happily for our anceftors their fituation allowed them to repair it, before its effects had proved deftruclive. They had no pride of vain philofophy to fupport, no perfidious rage of faction to glut, by perfevering in their miftakes until they Ihould be extinguifh- ed in torrents of blood.

AS the attempt to cftablifh among themfelves the community of goods was a feal of that facred bond which knit them fo clofely together, fo the conduct they obferved towards the natives of the country, difplays their ftedfaft adherence to the rules of juftice, and their faithful attachment to thofe of benevolence and charity.

NO European fettlement ever formed upon this continent has been more diftinguifhed for un-

1^

deviating kindnefs and equity towards the fava- ges. There are indeed moralifts, who have quel- tioncd the right of the Europeans to intrude upon the poflcflions of the aboriginals in any cafe, and under any limitations whatfoever. But have they maturely confidered the whole fubjecl ? The Indian right of poflcflion itfelf ftands with regard to the greateft part of the country, upon a quefti- onablc Voundation. Their cultivated fields ; their conftrucl:ed habitations ; a fpace of ample fuffici- ency for their fubfiftence, and whatever they had annexed to themfelves by perfo'nal labor, was un- doubtedly by the laws of nature theirs. But what is the right of a huntfman to the foreft of a thoufand miles over which he has accidentally ranged in queft of prey ? Shall the liberal boun- ties of Providence to the race of man be monopo- lized by one of ten thoufand for whom they were created ? Shall the exuberant bofom of the com- mon mother, amply adequate to the nourifhment of millions, be claimed exclufively by a few hun- dreds of her offspring ? Shall the lordly favagc not only difdain the virtues and enjoyments of ci- vilization himfelf, but fliall he controul the civili- zation of a world ? Shall he forbid the wildernefii to blolTom like the rofe ? Shall he forbid the oaks of the foreil to fall before the axe of induilry, and rife again, transformed into the habitations of eafc

24

and elegance ? Shall he doom an iinmenfe region of the globe to perpetual defoiation, and to hear the howlings of the tygcr and the wolf, filencc for ever the voice of human gladnefs ? Shall the fields and the vallies, which a beneficent God has formed to teem with the life of innumerable mul- titudes, be condemned to everlafting barrennefs ? Shall the mighty rivers poured out by the hands of nature, as channels of communication between numerous nations, roll their waters in fullen fi- lence and eternal folitude to the deep ? Have hundreds of commodious harbours, a thoufand leagues of coafl, and a boundlefs ocean been fpread in the front of this land, and fhall every purpofe cf utility to which they could apply be prohibited by the tenant of the woods ? No, generous phi- lanthropifts ! Heaven has not been thus inconfift- ent in the works of its hands ! Heaven has not thus placed at irrcconcileable ftrife, its moral laws with its phylical creation ! The Pilgrims of Ply- mouth obtained their right of pofleflion to the territory on which they fettled by titles as fair and unequivocal as any human property can be held. By their voluntary affociation they recognized their allegiance to the government of Britain; and in procefs of time received whatever powers and authorities could be conferred upon them by a Charter from their Sovereign. The fpot on which they fixed had belonged to an Indian tribe.

-J)

totally extirpated by that devouring peftilencc which had fwept the country, fhortly before their arrival. The territory thus free from all exclu- five poflellion, they might have taken by the nat- ural right of occupancy. Delirous however of giving ample fatisfaclion to every pretence of prior right, by formal and folemn conven tions with the chiefs of the neighboring tribes, they acquired the further fecuiity of a purchafe. At their hands the children of the dcfert had no caufe of com- plaint. On the great day of retribution, what thoufands, what millions of the American race will appear at the bar of judgment to arraign their European invading conquerors ! Let us humbly hope that the fathers of the Plymouth Colony will then appear in the whitenefs of innocence. Let us indulge the belief that they will not only be free from all accufation of injufticc to thefc un- fortunate fons of nature, but that the telHmonials of their adls of kindnefs and benevolence towards them will plead the caufe of their virtues as they are now authenticated by the records of hiftory upon earth.

RELIGIOUS difcord has loft her ftinp- : the

o

cumbrous weapons of theological warfare are an- tiquated : the held of politics fupplics the alchym- ifts of our times, with materials of more fatal ex-

plofion, and the butchers of mankind no long-er

D

26

travel to another world for inih'uments of cruelty and deitruction. Our age is too enlightened to contend upon topics, which concern only the in- terefts of eternity ; and men who hold in proper contempt all controverflcs about trifles, except Aich as ijiflame their own paflions, have made it a common-place cenfure again ft your anceftors, that their zeal was enkindled by fubje€bs of tri- vial importance ; and that liowever aggrieved by the intolerance of others, they were alike intole- rant thcmfelves. Againft thefe objections, your candid judgment will not require an unqualified iuftilication ; but your refpefl and gratitude for the founders of the ftate may boldly claim an am- ple apology. The original grounds of tlieir fepa. ration from the church of England, were not ob- jc<51s of a magnitude to diflblve the bonds of com- munion— much lefs thofe of charity, between chriftian bretheren of the fame efl'ential principles. Some of them however were not inconfiderable, and numerous inducements concurred to give them an extraordinary intercft in their eyes. "When that portentous fyftem of abufes, the Papal dominion, was overturned, a great variety of reli- crious feels arofe in its {lead, in the fevcral coun- tries which for many centuries before had been fcrewed beneath its fubjection. The fabric of the reformation, firft undertaken in England upon a

-7

contracled bafis, by a capricious and £\n "Quinary tyrant, had been fuccefllvcly overthrown and re- ftorcd, renewed and altered according to the va- rying humours and principles of four fucccllive monarchs. To afcertain the prccife point of di- vifion between the genuine inftitutions of chrifti- anity,.and the corruptions accunaulatjedupon them in the progrefs of fifteen centuries, was found a taik of extreme difficulty throughout the chriili- an world. Men of the profounded learning, of the fublimeft genius, and of the purell integrity, after devoting their lives to the rcfearch, finally differed in their ideas upon many great points both of doctrine and difcipline. The main quef- tion, it was admitted on all hands, moil; intimate- ly concerned the higheft interefts of man, both temporal and eternal. Can we wonder, that men who felt their happinefs here and their hopes of hereafter, their worldly welfare and tlie kingdom of Heaven at iiake, fhould fometimcs attach an importance beyond their intrinfic weight to col- lateral points of controverfy, connected with the all-involving object of the reformation ? The changes in the forms and principles of religious worfhip, were introduced and regulated in En- gland by the hand of public authority. But that hand had not been uniform or Heady in its ope- rations. During the pcrfecutions inflicted in the

28

interval of Poplfti reftoration under the reign oi- Mary, upon all who favored the reformation, ma- ny of the molt zealous reformers had been com- pelled to fly their country. While rcfiding on the continent of Europe, they had adopted the principles of the moft complete and rigorous re- formation, as taught and eflablifhcd by Calvin. On returning afterwards to their native country they were dillatisfied with the partial reformation, at which, as they conceived, the Englifh eftablifli- ment had refted, and claiming the privileges of private confcience, upon which alone any depar- ture from the church of Rome could be juftilied, they infifted upon the right of adhering to the fyftem of their own preference, and of courfe up- on that of non-conformity to the eftablilhment prefcribed by the royal authority. The only means ufed to convince them of error, and re- claim them from diflent, was force, and force fervedbut to confirm tlie oppofition it was meant to fupprefs. By driving the founders of the Ply- mouth Colony into exile, it conftrained them to abfolute feparation trom the church of England, and by the refufal afterwards to allow them a po- litivc toleration even in this American wildiirnefs, the council. of James the Firji rendered that fepa- ration irreconcileablc. Viewi^ig their religiou;^ li- berties here, as held only upon lufferance, yet

29

bound to them by all the ties of conviction, and by all their lufTcrings for them, could they for- bear to look upon every diflenter. among them- fclves with a jealous eye ? Within two years af- ter their landing they beheld a rival fettlement* attempted in their immediate neighbourhood ; and not long after the laws of felf prefervation compelled them to break up a neft of revellers,! who boaftcd of protection from the mother coun- try, and who had recurred to theeafy but perni- cious refource of feeding their wanton idlenefs by furniihing the favages with the means,the Ikill and the inflruments of European deftruclion. Tolera- tion in that inftance would have been felf-murder, andmanyotherexamplesmight be alledgedin which their necefl'ary meafures of felf-defence have been exaggerated into cruelty, and their moft indifpen- ilble precautions diftorted into perfecution. Yet fliall we not pretend that they were exempt from the common laws of mortality, or entirely frse from all the errors of their age. Their zeal might fometimes be too ardent, but it was always fincere. At this day religious indulgence is one of our cleared duties, becaufe it is one of our undifputed rights. While we rejoice that the principles of genuine chriftianity have fo far triumphed over

* JVrJi.ns Plantation at Weflaguflct

t Motion, and his party at Mount Wollafton.

the prejudices of a former generation, let us fer- vently hope for the day when it will prove equally victorious over the malignant paflions of our own.

IN thus calling to your attention fome of the peculiar features in the principles, the charadier, and the hiftory of your forefathers, it is as wide from my defign, as I know it would be from your approbation, to adorn their memory with a chap- let plucked from the domain of others. The oc- cafion and the day are more peculiarly devoted to them, but let it never be difhonored with a con- tracted and cxdufive fpirit. Our affections as ci- tizens embrace the whole extent of the union, and tlic names oi Raleigh, Smith, Winthrop, Calvert, Penn, and Oglethorpe, excite in oar minds recollections equally plealing, and gratitude equally fervent witli thofe of Carver and Bradford. Two centu- ries have not yet elapfed lince the firft European foot touched the foil which now conftitutes the American union — Two centuries more and our numbers muft exceed thofe of Europe herfelf. The deftinics of this empire, as they appear in profpcct before us, difdain the powers of human calcula- tion. Yet, as the original founder of the Roman State is faid once to have lifted upon his flioulders the fame and fortunes of all his pofterity, fo let IIS never forget that the glory and greatnefs of all

QUI dcfccndiints is in our hands. Prclervc in all their purity, refine if" polTible from all their alloy, thofe virtues which we this day commemorate as the ornament of our forefathers — Adhere to them with inflexible rcfolution, as to the horns of the altar; inftill them with unwearied perfeverancc into the minds of your children ; bind your fouls and theirs to the national union as the chords of life arc centred in the heart, and you ihall foar with rapid and ftcady wing to the furamit of hu- man glory. Nearly a century ago, one of thofe rare minds* to whom it is given to difcern future greatnefs in its feminal principles, upon contem- plating the fituation of this continent, pronounc- ed in a vein of poetic infpiration,

" Weflwartl the Star of empire takes its waj'."

Let us all unite in ardent fupplications to the foun- der of nations and the builder of worlds, that what then was prophecy may continue unfolding into hiftory — that the deareft hopes of the human race may not be extinguilhed in difappointmcnt, and that the laft may prove the nobleft empire of time.

* Biiliop B:rkdey.

Erratum. — In the title page, the laft word of the notice, rcfpetSling the rcqueft of the Committee of the town of Plymoulh, fliyiiid be ddhcrei, \^• flcad of '« publiflicd."

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